Moving rhubarb

Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it, but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom
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Split like a hosta and if possible a bushel of compost per plant. Take off seed clusters if you see them.

Bill who assumes you know the leaves are toxic (High in oxalic acid).

We enjoy Rhubarb, sugar, vanilla as a stew with ice cream or just by its self .

Reply to
Bill

Good. Easy.

"Many rhubarb problems can be traced to...." (He should be along soon to tell me about my rhubarb tree) :)

Damn...I just ate one...

THUD

Recipe: Rhubarb ?Big Crumb? Coffeecake

Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling

Butter for greasing pan

FOR THE RHUBARB FILLING:

1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

FOR THE CRUMBS:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup melted butter 1 3/4 cups cake flour

FOR THE CAKE:

1/3 cup sour cream 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup cake flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.
  2. To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.
  3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.
  4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.
  5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:O0qMj.1592$ snipped-for-privacy@news02.roc.ny:

mine are only about 2" high, but they were in a big snowbank until day before yesterday... split is just like a hosta, mix manure & compost in the new area & plant. rhubarb loves manure. then give it at least a year to get established before you start picking it.

if you keep it watered & mulched, it doesn't get woody & yucky as fast, either.

lee

Reply to
enigma

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to cut the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and twist them off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I was taught. My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries, raspberries and rhubarb they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were never allowed to cut/trim the stalks until after they'd been twisted off. I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on when harvesting.

Val

Reply to
Val

I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Me too. I think of rhubarb as a tasty weed. Seems nothin' kills it.

-paghat the ratgirl

Reply to
paghat

I just did some research about harvesting rhubarb. Apparently growers insisted on the stalks being twisted off to insure the new growth for the second harvest isn't damaged or cut by knives. Obviously strolling out to the garden to harvest home grown is a little different situation than mass commercial type harvest. Huh, interesting.

Val

Reply to
Val

That makes sense.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

The quick answer is that it is just easier that way and you avoid accidentally cutting part of the plant that you didn't want to cut (or yourself) which may be a consideration if you want to work fast. If you are selling by weight you get a bit more weight than if you cut it but it generally sells by the bunch.

As others have said the stuff is pretty indestructable.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

sometime in the recent past Val posted this:

I was taught by my grandfather and we basically give the stalk a firm tug making sure to be in line with the way the leaf is growing. This separates it at the ground level so you have the broad white end on the stalk with a small bit of that brown filmy skin. You can't hurt it, but it gets rather crowded at the base of the plant if you keep leaving bits of stalk on the crown.

If you remove the seed stalks when discovered and keep picking it, you can still have nice, edible fruit well into August. And it's not woody or stringy or anything. It's just that most folks let it go to seed and then the plant stops growing new stalks and the old stuff gets tough. IMHO

Reply to
Wilson

Mine sticks out into the "lane" where I need to mow, so to avoid mangling it, I'm constantly harvesting and watching for seed pods. Looked pretty good all the way into September.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

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